


A Lesson In Romantics

by MyChemicalRachel



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Derek is a librarian and Stiles studies at the library, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, things are complicated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:56:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5862730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyChemicalRachel/pseuds/MyChemicalRachel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek likes Stiles.<br/>Stiles likes Derek.<br/>If only things could really be that simple...</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lesson In Romantics

The library is silent when Derek approaches the front desk. More so than usual. The sun has long set beyond the tinted glass windows and the clock on the wall is telling him it’s just past ten. With a resigned sigh, Derek runs a hand through his hair. He figures he’ll do one more walk-through, just to make sure there are no late-night stragglers still hanging around before he closes up.

Sure enough, at a table near the reference section, is a man. His head is down as he pores over the books spread out on the table before him. A pen in his hand taps anxiously against the page of a notebook before he scribbles something down, and then fumbles for a highlighter to mark it again.

“Hey,” Derek calls when he’s a few feet away. “We’re closed.”

The kid doesn’t even move.

Derek reaches out, tapping on his shoulder. The stranger flails, gasps dramatically, and spins to gape at Derek with wide brown eyes. “Holy shit, dude,” He exclaims, but like quietly. A whispered exclamation. He pulls his earphones out. “Give me a fucking heart-attack, why don’t you?”

“Sorry,” Derek mutters, but he’s kind of not because now that the stranger is looking at him, this guy isn’t really a kid. He looks young, maybe nineteen or twenty, but he’s gorgeous. His eyes have gone back to a normal size, but his lips stay parted in a way that Derek can’t stop staring at. He tries to avert his gaze and ends up staring at the moles on the guy’s neck instead. Fuck. “Umm… We’re closing,” Derek says, and then silently applauds himself for forming words.

The stranger frowns. “Shit, already?” He checks the time and then runs a few fingers through his hair. “Yeah, okay. I’m sorry. I guess I lost track of time.”

Derek tilts his head to look at the books strewn across the table while the other man starts closing them. There seems to be no order to the mess and that intrigues Derek. There’s a book on Greek Mythology, another one that has fancy golden words that don’t even look English adorning the front, and one that has a picture of an atom.

“Finals,” The stranger explains, catching Derek’s gaze. “They’re not for another two weeks, but I’m trying to get as much studying done as possible between actual classwork and work and… stuff.”

Derek can’t help the way his brow furrows, not able to stop himself when he blurts out, “What kind of classes are you taking, dude?”

The kid chuckles. “The mythology’s just a reference for my creative writing class,” He says. “Then my Latin, and Physics. Next week, I’m focusing on my social studies, which is about as fun as it sounds, and business basics.”

Derek doesn’t mean to gape, but he never went to college; Just hearing all of the shit this kid is studying makes his head hurt. The kid laughs again and Derek realizes he really likes that sound. “Wow.” And even Derek can tell that he sounds impressed.

The kid smirks as he finishes gathering his books. “I can put them back where I got them and then I’ll be out of your hair,” He says.

Derek, without thinking, reaches out to touch the stranger’s wrist. Then, realizing what he did, jerks his hand back, flushing. Why is he so nervous? He clears his throat. “No, it’s okay. I mean, I can put them away. It’s my job anyway.”

The other man shakes his head. “No, dude. It’s no problem.” But when he sees Derek isn’t budging, he sighs. “Fine. But at least least let me help.”

And Derek can’t really say no to that.

Over the next few weeks, the man returns to the library every day. And each day that Derek works, he finds every reason he can to talk to him. He learns that the kid’s name is Stiles. He’s just shy of turning twenty and he’s finishing up his first year of online college. “It’s easier online,” Stiles explains one time. “I can stay close to home and my dad, and it’s easier to fit in online courses between work and stuff.”

Stiles talks about his dad a lot. He tells Derek that his mom died when he was a kid and, until recently, it was just him and his dad. He talks with his hands, too. He waves them around and gestures frantically, emphasising every word that leaves his mouth. Derek finds it quite captivating actually.

Derek doesn’t talk as much. He prefers to listen, hanging onto everything Stiles says. But he does admit that he never went to college, how he never saw a point to it after high school, though he doesn’t elaborate and Stiles doesn’t ask him to. Derek tells Stiles about how he would love to own a bookstore one day, but he doesn’t see it in the near future. He tells Stiles that he likes being surrounded by the books, how he likes that they make him feel small; In the middle of a thousand different stories, his life is just one. He expects Stiles to laugh at him for that, but the younger man doesn’t. Instead, he just nods solemnly, like he understands.

It takes two weeks, but Derek finally works up the courage to ask Stiles on a date. Nearly everyone else has cleared out by now-- Stiles has a habit of staying until Derek or one of the other librarians kick him out-- when Derek slides into the chair across from Stiles. The table between them is strewn with journals, sheets of scribbled notes, and books with every few pages marked with post-it notes.

Stiles doesn’t look up when Derek sits, but he pulls his headphones out and says, “Did you know that there are over 150 million sheep in Australia?” Derek is used to this kind of randomness after seeing Stiles every day for the last two weeks, so he simply shakes his head. “But there are only 17 million people. That means that for every human in Australia, there are 8.8 sheep.”

“How the hell do you have 8.8 sheep?” Derek chuckles. “Is there an eighth of a sheep running around?”

“Maybe it doesn’t have legs,” Stiles suggests.

He looks up and Derek is blinded by that bright, addictive smile that Stiles has. It makes Derek’s heart do this weird somersault in his chest and before he can think better of it, Derek is blurting out, “Will you go out with me?” Then he pauses awkwardly before clarifying, “On a date.”

And then Derek watches as the bright grin fades from Stiles’ face and he knows he’s made a mistake. He was reading the signs wrong. Stiles is a nice person, but that doesn’t mean he’s interested in Derek the way Derek is interested in him. Derek is completely prepared to apologize and run off in shame to hide in the break room for the rest of forever, but Stiles sighs heavily. He drops his head forward, running a hand through his hair.

“I like you, Derek” Stiles says. “I would fucking love to go out with you.”

Derek hears the silent “but…” at the end of that sentence, and he simply waits. Just as he expected, Stiles chews on his lip for a long time and then says, “But I can’t. Not right now. It’s just… A really bad time, and things are kind of complicated.”

Derek pretends that his heart doesn’t shatter, that his chest doesn’t cave in, that he doesn’t feel completely and utterly rejected, when he offers a smile. “I understand,” He says, which is kind of a lie. He doesn’t know why it’s a bad time for Stiles and he doesn’t know why it’s complicated. But he likes having Stiles as his friend and if that’s all that Stiles wants for now, then Derek will just have to accept that it’s enough.

They continue the next few days as usual. They joke and they talk and sometimes they just sit in companionable silence. And then three days later, Stiles doesn’t come in at his usual time to study. Derek tries to pretend he doesn’t notice Stiles’ absence, but he finds himself staring at the table Stiles always claims, now occupied with a group of high school kids.

Derek is about to lock up, having made sure everyone had vacated the library, when the front door opens. He doesn’t turn to face whoever is arriving, just calls “We’re closed!” and continues signing out of the computer.

He only looks up when he hears a soft and familiar voice say, “Hey, Derek.”

Stiles is standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor. He fidgets from one foot to the other, first wringing his hands and then stuffing them both into the pockets of his jacket.

“Hey,” Derek says. He waits for Stiles to say something more, but he doesn’t. They simply hold silent eye contact. Eventually, Derek straightens up, grabbing his jacket. “I’m just closing up. Did you need a book or something?”

Stiles hesitates and then shakes his head. “No. Actually, I’m just here to talk to you.” Derek waits again. Stiles sighs, dropping his gaze to the floor. “My dad kind of stole my keys and locked me out of the house. He’s apparently very invested in my love life because he told me I’m not allowed back in the house until I agree to go on a date with you.” He glances up quickly, meeting Derek’s eyes again. He looks nervous and Derek feels his heart race. “So I was sort of hoping that the offer still stands?”

Derek takes a step forward, and then another, until he’s standing right in front of Stiles. “I don’t want you to go out with me just because your dad is threatening you,” He says.

Stiles bites down on his lip. “I want to go out with you because I like you,” He admits. “But I wasn’t lying when I said things are complicated.”

“That’s okay,” Derek smirks. “I think I can handle complicated.”

Honestly, Derek just wants to grab Stiles and kiss the crap out of him like right now. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to pressure Stiles into anything he isn’t ready for, and that includes not forcing Stiles into telling him what exactly is complicated. 

A small smile tugs up on the corners of Stiles’ lips, but he still looks nervous. “Can we just… Go slow? Like, turtle with training wheels slow?”

Derek just nods. “Yeah. Like… Coffee?”

Stiles seems to relax a bit, heaving out a sigh. “Yeah. Coffee sounds awesome.”

And so the next evening, Stiles and Derek meet at the coffee shop on Main Street. It’s awkward at first, for both of them. But after a few minutes, Stiles seems to relax and it falls into a more natural atmosphere. Less like a weird first date, and more like the many conversations they’d held in the library. When the sun begins to set, Stiles says he should probably get home. Derek walks him to his car, like the gentleman he is.

“This was good,” Stiles states, like he’s judging a book rather than a date. But he smiles, toying with his keys when they stop in front of an old blue jeep. “Do you think we could maybe do it again?”

Derek reaches out to rest his hand on Stiles’, causing the younger man to stop fumbling with his keys and actually look up at Derek. Derek just wants to kiss him. He doesn’t. He lets a smile form on his lips and says, “Yeah. Definitely.”

Stiles’ face light up with a grin. “Good.” He hesitates before leaning closer and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of Derek’s mouth. “Night Derek.”

Derek is still standing there with butterflies in his stomach and a tingling on his lips when Stiles climbs into the jeep and pulls away.

They meet again the next evening for another coffee. And just like before, it ends with a small, chaste kiss. The day after that, they have lunch together at a diner down the road. A few days later, they see a movie-- Stiles talks through the entire film, stuffs his face with popcorn, and steals half of Derek’s soda. Derek loves every moment of it. When Derek walks Stiles to his car afterward, Stiles wraps a hand around the back of Derek’s neck and pulls him in for a heart stopping kiss. There’s tongues and clashing teeth and Stiles bites down gently on Derek’s lip, tugging, before pulling back with a grin. And just like every time before, he simply says, “Goodnight Derek,” and drives away, leaving Derek longing for more.

It continues on this way for nearly a month.

Then one day Derek gets called into the library on his Saturday off. Stiles, having been busy that day, wasn’t able to hang out, so Derek readily takes the extra hours.

It’s just after one in the afternoon, as Derek finishes reshelving a few returns, when he spots a familiar red hoodie browsing the new releases section. Stiles is so absorbed in what he’s doing, he actually jumps when Derek appears at his side. The smile that flashes across his face at the sight of the other man vanishes a second later. “Hey,” Stiles says. “I thought you weren’t working today.”

Derek shrugs. “I wasn’t supposed to, but Abigail ended up sick, so I had to fill in. What about you? I thought you had plans.”

“Yeah,” Stiles nods. He looks nervous, glancing down the aisle they’re standing in, and then back to Derek. “Look, can you go on break for like five minutes? I really need to talk to you about something.”

Derek wants to ignore the way his heart picks up speed, the way Stiles’ nervousness is affecting him. He just nods. “Yeah, sure. Stiles, are you okay?”

Stiles nods quickly, but it’s a jerky gesture. “I just really think we need to talk.” He fidgets some more and Derek reaches out to grab his hand. Stiles squeezes his fingers, takes a breath, and eventually continues, a bit calmer. “You remember when you first asked me out? And I said that things were complicated?” Derek nods uneasily. “Well I was planning on telling you soon what I meant by that, but I think I need to tell you now. Like, right now.”

“Stiles, you’re kind of freaking me out,” Derek admits, because what could Stiles possibly tell him that’s so bad?

Stiles bites down roughly on his lip and visibly winces. “I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t really know how to say this.” So he sighs again. “Okay. I’m just gonna spit it out. Derek, I have a--”

Before he can say anything else, a little girl rounds the corner. She’s wearing a Batman shirt and a pink tutu and he her dark hair falls in crazy waves around her face. An older man follows close behind her, smiling fondly. Her bright eyes land on Stiles and she squeals, rushing forward. “Daddy! Daddy, look! Look, Daddy!”

Stiles doesn’t look at Derek when he bends just in time to scoop the little girl up in his arms. “What did you find, Kas?” His voice is gentle, but there’s a wary edge to it. Derek can only watch on, awed and shocked. Did this little girl just call Stiles  _ daddy _ ?

The little girl-- Kas, apparently-- beams and Derek realizes that she looks just like Stiles. “Grampa found a ‘vengers book! It got pictures of Hulk and Captain ‘merica.” She shoves it in Stiles’ face so he can see.

“Wow,” Stiles laughs. “That’s awesome!” He glances at the older man who had followed Kas into the aisle. “Dad, why don’t you take Kassi to find a few more books.” He pauses, then adds, “Please?”

“Sure thing,” The older man smiles, and Derek almost doesn’t catch the way he looks between Derek and Stiles. Then he reaches out to grab the small child. “Come on, kiddo.” The small child screeches unintelligibly and then flails for him. But before they have a chance to wander off, she looks back to Stiles and says, “I get bunches of books? Grampa says I can get TEN!”

Stiles rolls his eyes and sets his father with a stern look. But he can’t help but relent. “Fine. You can get  _ five  _ books. No more than five, though. You won’t read more than that.”

Kassi pouts, looking unimpressed. “I’m four now,” She says and holds four little fingers up, as if to prove it. “I can read lots of books.”

“Alright,” Stiles’ dad finally chuckles, tugging her away. “Let’s go. Say bye to daddy.”

“Bye Daddy!” She waves over his shoulder to Stiles, who returns the gesture before the pair round the corner and disappear.

When Derek and Stiles are alone, a heavy silence falls. Stiles avoids looking directly at Derek, but he can’t fight it anymore. He needs to see Derek’s reaction. And Derek is gaping. He’s stunned. Of all the things he thought Stiles was going to tell him, this is not what he expected at all. He thinks he forgets how exactly to use words correctly because he ends up just blurting out, “You have a kid.”

Stiles swallows hard and then nods. “Yeah.” And it’s like the single confession opens up a flood gate because Stiles starts rambling hurriedly, like he’s afraid Derek won’t listen if he doesn’t say all of this now. “This is the complication I was talking about before. I was going to tell you about her, I swear. It wasn’t like I was keeping her a secret or something. You’ve just got to understand that I can’t bring random strangers into her life if it’s not serious. She can’t handle people walking into her life and then just disappearing all of a sudden. I needed to make sure you and I had something before I brought her into it.”

“Stiles--” Derek starts to say, but Stiles isn’t listening. He’s ranting, pushing both hands anxiously through his hair, tugging on a few strands.

“And I know I should have at least told her about her, but it’s… Fuck, it’s  _ complicated _ . Usually when people find out I had a kid when I was fifteen, they freak out and run the other way and I didn’t want that because I really like you, Derek. I like you a lot. That’s why I was going to tell you about her soon. Because you and me… I think we have something here, something special that I want to last. But I lied to you, I know that and I’m sorry, even though I’m kind of not because I did it to protect my daughter, but I get it if you don’t want to see me anymore.” He looks down again, finding it easier to talk to the ground. His voice sort of fades out at the end, slowing down like he’s accepting defeat instead of rushing to explain himself. “I guess I’d  just prefer you told me now if this has any effect on our coffee date next weekend because I’d rather not sit through an hour you feel like is an obligation or something if you’re just going to tell me at the end that you don’t want to date me anymore.”

When Stiles is finally finished talking, Derek waits. He knows it took a lot out of Stiles to get all of that off his chest, so Derek hesitates a long minute before admitting, “I think this kind of does affect our coffee date.”

And Stiles sighs, looking resigned to going home and crying into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. “Yeah. Okay, I understand.”

Derek reaches forward, placing two fingers under Stiles’ chin, tilting his head up so Stiles finally looks at him. “We should go for ice cream instead,” Derek states. “And you should bring her. I’d really like to meet her, if that’s okay with you.”

Now it’s Stiles that looks stunned. He doesn’t mean to, but after pouring his heart out to Derek, it’s like he can’t control the word vomit and he gapes at Derek, blurting out, “You can’t be serious.” His brow furrows and it looks like he’s trying to dissect Derek with just his gaze. “You just found out I lied to you for over a month about having a child. You can’t just forgive me like that!”

Derek chuckles, shrugging. “But I do forgive you. I really care about you, Stiles. And she’s a part of you. I wish you had told me sooner, but I understand why you didn’t.”

“But…” Stiles looks like a fish, opening and closing his mouth a few times, still trying to grasp what Derek is so plainly saying. “How can you just accept it like that? I’m a dad. I have a small human being under my care. And you’re okay with that? I’d understand if you broke up with me.”

Derek laughs again, shaking his head. “Are you trying to convince me to break up with you?”

He watches as Stiles’ mouth falls open. “No,” He says quickly. “I just… I know that this is kind of a big decision, Derek. I’m telling you that you have a choice.”

Derek looks down then, nodding slowly. “Stiles, I…” He bites down on his lip, fighting to find words. He chuckles when he says, “It’s complicated. But I want this.” He looks up abruptly, meeting Stiles’ piercing gaze when he adds, “I want you. And like I said, she’s a part of you.”

The grin that stretches across Stiles’ face then is the most beautiful thing Derek’s ever seen.

 

Stiles is nervous about introducing Derek to his daughter. Stiles knows that Kassi is the most important person in his life. He knows that there’s no way his relationship with Derek can continue if Kassi doesn’t like him, or he doesn’t like her.

But when Stiles and Kassi slide into a booth across from Derek at the ice cream place, he soon realizes he had nothing to worry about.

Kassi demands three different kinds of ice cream-- Strawberry, chocolate, and lemon-- and then asks Derek to mix them all together in the cup. Derek does as he’s asked, but he’s kind of baffled because it sounds disgusting together. He’s less surprised when he sees Stiles order the same thing for himself.

As it turns out, the kid is just like Stiles in other ways. She eats her ice cream faster than the grown-ups, even though she talks nonstop. She waves her little hands around just like Stiles does and she talks about her day at preschool and Derek realizes that she’s really fucking smart for a four year old, but that doesn’t surprise him either. She asks about Derek, too. She wants to know about his family and her mouth falls open in awe when he tells her that he has seven brothers and sisters. She looks at him like he’s a superhero when she learns that Derek works at the library, because that’s “way cooler than Daddy’s job.” And when Kassi finds out that Derek has a pet fish named Bruce, she turns to Stiles with wide eyes and asks, “Daddy, can I meet Bruce? I wanna see the fishy!”

Derek promises that Kassi can meet Bruce one of these days.

By the end of the date, Kassi is falling asleep in the booth. Stiles picks her up, her head immediately finding his shoulder, and twenty seconds later she’s snoring softly. Derek walks Stiles and Kassi to the jeep. Derek watches as Stiles straps the girl into a booster and places a kiss on her head. Then he comes to stand in front of Derek.

“I like her,” Derek informs him with a smile. “She’s adorable. And she’s just like you.”

“She likes you, too,” Stiles tells him. And Derek’s heart swells at that.

Without thinking, Derek finds himself saying, “When I was seventeen, my girlfriend got pregnant.” He feels himself blush immediately because he’s never told anyone that before. Something twists inside him, painful and aching at the memories he’d buried for so long. When he looks back up at Stiles, he expects to see a judgemental gaze, a deceived expression. But all he sees is concern and confusion flitting across his beautiful features. So Derek takes a deep breath, fighting past the lump in his throat to continue. “She got an abortion.” Stiles’ face falls. He looks shocked and pained and he reaches out to take Derek’s hand. Their fingers twist together and Derek finds that the contact soothes him.

“I begged her to keep the baby,” Derek says. He focuses on their hands. He can’t look Stiles in the eye. He feels ashamed almost, admitting this. “But Kate was young and scared and… I never held it against her, you know? But it’s been seven years and not a day goes by that I don’t wonder how my life would have turned out if she had decided differently.”

“Derek, I’m so sorry.” Derek looks up to see a frown on Stiles’ face, and Derek feels a pang of guilt for putting it there. Stiles rubs the pad of his thumb across Derek’s knuckles.

Derek shrugs one shoulder. “I kept telling myself it was for the best, that I would have been a shitty dad anyway--”

Derek’s words are cut off when Stiles presses their lips together. Stiles’ eyes are wet when he pull back an inch and shakes his head, disputing Derek’s previous statement. “You couldn’t control what she did,” He says. “And unfortunately you can’t change it now. But for what it’s worth, I think you would have been a great dad. And I think you still will some day.”

Derek wraps his arms around Stiles’ waist, pulling him in closer. With Stiles’ head pressed against his chest, it’s like some of the leftover pain fades, and Derek thinks it feels little easier to bear.

 

Both of them feel something at that moment, a deep connection, and they can’t place exactly what it is until two months later when Derek finally finds the words to express it. He’s curled up on the couch in the Stilinski household with Stiles leaning against his chest. Mulan is playing on the TV across the room, but Kassi is asleep on Stiles’ lap. The house is quiet, peaceful, and it hits Derek like a brick when he realizes it; “I love you.”

It’s soft, whispered, and it feels so right to say those words. The only thing that seems out of place in the serenity is the way his heart pounds against his chest. But Stiles just leans his head back on Derek’s shoulder, placing a soft kiss to his jaw. Stiles smiles. “I love you, too.”

 

It’s almost a year after that when Stiles sparks up a conversation with Kassi, one he never really thought he would have with her. But together they talk, giggle, and come to an agreement. Two weeks later, Derek arrives to pick up Stiles and Kas for their usual Sunday lunch only to find Kassi coloring with chalk in the driveway. He parks on the street and wanders over, sitting down next to her.

“What are you drawing?” Derek asks.

Kassi scoots over to let him see and Derek’s heart nearly stops. It’s a couple, two men, with a little girl between them. Beneath the pictures, are the words, “Will you be my Papa?”

Derek looks up quickly, meeting Kassi’s gaze. She giggles adorably and then stands up and runs toward the house. Derek stands too and then almost falls over again when he sees Stiles kneeling with a ring in his hands, about the height of Kassi standing next to him. His lips twitch with a smile. “What do you say, big guy?” Stiles asks. “Will you marry us?”

 

Stiles and Derek agree they don’t want a big wedding, but telling a six year old that she can’t wear a poofy dress and be a flower girl is like putting a Barbie Doll through a wood chipper. So in the end, Derek and Stiles stand in a courtroom with Kassi between them. She wears a frilly pink dress and a flower crown, holding a tiny wildflower bouquet, and waits patiently for her cue; When the big man in front of her asks, “May I have the rings?” Kassi pulls two silver bands out and hands them over.

And when Stiles and Derek finally lean over her to kiss each other, Kassi doesn’t even say “eww” because she doesn’t think she’s ever seen her daddy smile that big. But she gets impatient and stomps her little foot, demanding to be included, so Derek and Stiles both kneel and Kassi is smooshed between another kiss.

When they go home that night, Derek wraps his arms around Stiles and nuzzles into his neck, feeling the serenity wash over him. He doesn’t know he was lucky enough to be granted such a perfect, beautiful husband and daughter. But he knows, even on the not-so-perfect days when he and Stiles argue, or the sleepless nights when Kassi is sick and demands to sleep in their bed, that he would never trade it for anything else in the world.


End file.
